Juniper French was born four months early, at 23 weeks gestation. She weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces, and her twiggy body was the length of a Barbie doll. Her head was smaller than a tennis ball, her skin was nearly translucent, and through her chest you could see her flickering heart. Babies like Junipe

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Juniper French is 5 years old, "healthy and ferocious and lighting up kindergarten," her parents say.

She's come farther than most in her short life, which began when she was born premature at only 23 weeks gestation — what scientists believe is the absolute limit of human viability outside the womb.

Former Tampa Bay Times writer Kelley Benham French chronicled her daughter's harrowing experience in a series of stories for the Times. She and her husband, Tom French, also a former Times writer, expand on the experience in their new book, Juniper.

Monday, they gave a copy of that book to someone they say helped Juniper hang on to life when she was the most fragile: Bruce Springsteen.